A Paean
by MassiveMilkshakeNerd
Summary: A demonic manservant muses on the emotion love and has a chat with his contractor's wife.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler). All rights belong to the author, Yana Toboso. I am merely using her characters and story for entertainment.**

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Sometimes I think my ladies love for my master is blinding. Often times I find myself admiring it, and then other times I think it her downfall. It's a strange thing, this emotion they call "love." That it can cause such feelings in a human is something to wonder at. From the simple affection for a helpless, innocent little child to the somewhat obsessive (or possessive) relationship between two lovers, it continues to astound me that such a race of beings could find such passion for one another in this hopeless world full of hate and greed.

I told my lady so.

She stared at me for a moment, then she smiled softly, a thoughtful look in her green eyes, so very reminiscent of emeralds. "It is funny, isn't it? We keep on living and losing but that emotion still exists. Even if all you feel is hate for others, even if you insist that you feel no affection for anyone, it's still there. Somewhere."

That's what my lady thinks anyway.

Years later, she married my master. It was rather amusing to watch them play house and then fall apart. I'm not sure I completely understand what happened but I assure you they are no longer sharing the same bed. Some argument, I think.

You see, my master has yet to complete his revenge.

He scowls at me, ordering me to leave immediately after I serve him his afternoon tea. Such a cold master. You know I can't understand anything you communicate to me by looks or feelings. That is something most unknown to me.

Perhaps I must consult my lady.

She is outside on the patio. Her hands are covering her face and I can tell that she is crying by the shaking of her small back. I approach her quietly so that she jumps in her chair, and I put on what I hope is a sympathetic smile. "My lady, what is the reason for your tears? Surely it is nothing so bad that it would cause them to flow so profusely?"

My lady wipes the tears off her face. Oh, what a pretty face. "It is nothing."

"Really?" I sit next to her, taking her hands in my gloved ones. "I do not think it's nothing. Pray tell me what's troubling you, my lady."

Humans do love sympathy.

Her lip quivers and she looks as if she is about to burst into another fit of tears but she composes herself. Bravo, my lady. "It's Ciel," she confesses to me softly.

"And what about him?" I ask kindly, stroking her hands in a comforting manner.

She lets out a sniffle. "I was wrong. He really is full of hatred. He can't make himself love anyone. He's gone. My love... Ciel's gone."

"Yes," I agree. "The boy who was once known as 'Ciel' is gone."

My ladies' eyes bore into mine. I can see that she is thinking hard about something. Finally, she says, "You've done it to him, haven't you, Sebastian."

Really, what silly suspicions you beings can come up with.

"What makes you say that, my lady?" I grin despite myself.

She shifts uncomfortably in her chair as my hands no longer provide comfort for her. I hold on to them even more tightly. "He hasn't been the same since... since you brought him back from wherever you came from."

"Oh, _really_?" I lean in close to her, and she pales considerably. "I assure you, Lady Elizabeth. My master has done this only to himself. He chose to be the way he is, and I advise that you stay away from him for he is still striving to fulfill his end of a certain... bargain, we shall call it."

I allow my lips to brush over hers ever so slightly, and I revel in her shivering body. "You understand, don't you?"

Her face is turned away from me. I let go of her hands and stand up. "If you don't, I'm afraid I shall have to deal with you in ways I hope to never have to use on you."

She remains defiant.

"...I suppose he may have loved you at one point. But I can not allow you to taint my master any further."

My lady was a silent woman after that. I made sure of it until her last dying breath.


End file.
